I Made Joanna Gaines’ Most Beloved One-Pot Soup
With so many picky eaters in my house, I love finding a recipe that lets everyone make dinner on their own. This tortilla soup from cookbook author, lifestyle guru, and television star Joanna Gaines does just that! A simple base of chicken broth, onions, and tomatoes provides a delicious canvas for extra ingredients and toppings, making each and every bowl unique!
Get the recipe: Joanna Gaines’ Tortilla Soup
How to Make Joanna Gaines’ Tortilla Soup
First, start the soup by combining chicken broth, a red onion, tomato, and corn in a soup pot. Season the mix, then cook until the soup reaches a beautiful rolling boil. Add in the shredded chicken and simmer everything together to warm the chicken and infuse it with delicious flavor.
Once you have the soup prepped, add in the rice mix and the other seasonings, if using — and I recommend it. This soup relies on the cumin and jalapeño to give it a signature tortilla soup flavor, so I’d recommend you don’t skip those. From there, simply top your soup with all of the amazing toppings that Gaines recommends for her tortilla soup and enjoy. Recipes for two of the toppings that Gaines recommends, the Mexican crema and fried tortilla strips, are found below the soup recipe. Again, I’d recommend going the extra mile and making those, too. It takes the soup from simple to simply amazing.
My Honest Review
This recipe for tortilla soup was a great base recipe. Many of the ingredients and toppings that Gaines mentions in her recipe are listed as optional, but I’d encourage you to add most, if not all, of them. Without the optional ingredients, the soup could be a bit bland, so make sure you follow her tips to spice things up! I loved the addition of the fried tortilla strips, too. It really made the soup feel special!
This soup was perfect for my family. I followed the recipe, then put all of the suggested toppings and extra ingredients out for everyone to top their own bowls. That night, everyone ate exactly the soup that they wanted, which made it a fun and easy dinner in my house.
Tips for Joanna Gaines’ Tortilla Soup
Fry your own tortilla strips. Like I mentioned, this extra step is super easy and really elevates the recipe. Gaines offers a recipe to make your own tortillas, too, in case you’re looking for an extra challenge.
Substitute different proteins. This recipe calls for shredded chicken, but I can easily see that you could make it vegetarian with some cooked tofu or even a hearty can of beans.
Make a toppings bar. This would be the perfect soup for a dinner party, too. Just make a big batch of the broth with vegetables and lay out all of the toppings for your guests to make their soup exactly the way they want it.
Make it spicy. A pinch or two of chili powder went a long way towards making this soup extra spicy.
Add other vegetables. This soup would be great with red peppers, beans, or even okra cooked into it.
Get the recipe: Joanna Gaines’ Tortilla Soup
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